The invention relates to a profiled connecting element which serves the purpose of attaching sheet piles to carrier elements, in particular to I-beams for constructing a combination sheet pile wall. In addition, the invention relates to a combination sheet pile wall in which the profiled connecting element according to the invention is used for connecting the sheet piles to the carrier elements.
Profiled connecting elements of the kind mentioned above are in particular used for constructing so-called combination sheet pile walls, such as the ones known, for example, from DE 297 18 052 U1, EP 0 072 118 A1 or also from DE 103 8 769 A1. Such combination sheet pile walls are in particular used for constructing quay walls, to secure banks in harbors and on rivers and also for supporting embankments and the like. Known combination sheet pile walls are formed of numerous carrier elements that are rammed into the ground with at least one sheet pile, also known as sheet piling, positioned between them. To create a closed, watertight sheet pile wall, the sheet piles are connected to one another along their longitudinal edges using interlocking elements such as hook or jaw strips, while the sheet piles located directly adjacent to the carrier elements are connected to the carrier elements through the aforementioned profiled connecting elements. To attach the profiled connecting elements to a carrier element, the profiled connecting element exhibits a profiled receiving element designed for this purpose. Attaching one of the interlocking elements of the sheet pile to be attached is carried out using an profiled attachment element of the profiled connecting element. The profiled connecting element exhibits a uniform cross-sectional shape and is adapted in its length to the length of the sheet piles and the carrier elements to be connected.
Currently, so-called hot-rolled steel piles are used for such combination sheet pile walls, that is, sheet piles that have been reformed into the desired cross-sectional shape through hot-forming. Thus far, it is not possible to use cold-rolled sheet piles that have been re-formed into the desired cross-sectional shape through cold-forming, even though they are less expensive in comparison to hot-rolled sheet piles and exhibit better surface properties, in particular surface hardness.
For example, one problem with cold-rolled sheet piles is that the structure of the sheet piles is formed differently during the cold-rolling process, depending on the degree of forming. Due to the different degrees of forming, cold-rolled sheet piles exhibit different resisting moments, strengths and properties of elasticity across their cross-section. Because of the different material properties of the sheet piles viewed across the cross-section of the sheet piles, it was until now not possible to construct combination sheet pile walls from cold-rolled sheet piles. For example, material breakage often occurs during the ramming procedure at the very location where the sheet pile had been re-formed the strongest during the cold-rolling process, i.e., in particular at the interlocking elements which have been re-formed the strongest. However, it is precisely the interlocking elements that are to ensure a secure and in particular also watertight connection between the profiled connecting element and the sheet pile.